Stephen Harris: the perfect roast leg of lamb, served cold

A chef recently told me a story about a busy night in the Michelin-starred restaurant in which he used to work. On the menu was a fish dish with a red wine sauce – this may seem a strange combination but it really works when perfectly executed; the trick is to make a sauce that doesn’t overwhelm the taste of the fish but instead is served in a small amount to act as a dressing. But on this busy night, disaster struck: the chef ran out of the red wine sauce.

The menu also listed a lamb dish that had a red wine sauce – so he decided to serve that with the fish. No doubt the panic had subsided into relief as the dish went out on time. But not long afterward, it came back.

“The customer wants to know why his turbot tastes like shepherd’s pie,” said the waiter. The chef had committed a fatal error. There is something about the taste of lamb – the sauce was based on lamb stock – which is unmistakable,...